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Book Blitz: Hard As You Can by Laura Kaye

Happy book birthday, Laura Kaye! I'm so glad to be part of her release day launch for Hard As You Can! Partly because yes, I won an ARC (provided by the publisher via Edelweiss), but mostly because she's one of my favorite contemporary authors.

I have been reading Laura Kaye stories for a while now and all I can say is that she keeps getting better and better with time. So yes, Laura is like good wine or cheese. And her stories are meant to be savored.

Her characters are strong despite their wounds, and her sexytime chemistry rockets off the chart. I love the way Laura slows the action down so we are part of every vulnerable, shivery moment. And the emotion, oh the emotion...love it! Want a taste?

Here's an excerpt from Hard As You Can featuring Shane and Crystal:

“I
didn’t mean to criticize you, Crystal. I just cannot abide violence against
women. Period. Especially not someone I know.” A long pause. “And definitely
not someone I like.” After everything that had happened to her, the words were
a balm for her psyche.

Footsteps
came up behind her, slowly, cautiously, like she was a wild animal who would
bolt in an instant. And she supposed there was some truth to that analogy.

Torn
between returning to the danger she knew or staying with the one she didn’t,
Crystal debated. Her heart told her Shane might well be the most dangerous man
she’d ever met because he made her want, wish, maybe even dream.

Not
at all sure it was a good idea, Crystal slowly turned.

Shane
was right in front of her. A rock in the middle of a raging sea, a refuge she
might claim if she had the strength and the will and the nerve to fight for it.
To believe she deserved it. She hugged herself.

“Hey,”
he said, cupping her face in his big hands. His fingers slid behind her neck
and gently massaged.

She
shook her head and glanced toward the treetops in an effort to pinch off the sting
building behind her eyes. Why did she have to meet him now? She’d had a plan, and
all she’d needed to do was follow it for a few more months. “You don’t even
know me.”

“No.
Not everything. But I know more than a little. And that much I like enough to want
to know more.” His fingers rubbed her neck, gently, soothingly.

And
his words, well, his words were perfect. Maybe even too much so. Too good to
be true, she thought. “I already told you I’d share what I’d learned. You
don’t have to play me.”

His
eyes narrowed, and he frowned. “You listen hard and you listen good, sweetness,”
he said, the words firm but the tone urgent, almost desperate, and laced with
his southern accent. “I’m not perfect, and God knows I’ve made a lot of
mistakes in my life. But I would never play with a woman’s emotions to get
information out of her. That kind of manipulation doesn’t hold with me. Ever.”

Sweetness.
She’d
heard everything he’d said. The passion with which he’d said it. The sincerity
that burned from his gaze as the words had poured from his lips. But it was the
term of endearment that reached into her chest and gripped her heart. For a
long moment, they stood there, bodies touching, faces inches apart, his hands
holding her in that firm-but-gentle way he had.

Thunder
rumbled again, closer this time, and her heart was a drum beat double-timing

inside
her chest. If his hands didn’t feel it racing, he’d have to hear it, because the
sound was a loud rush rush in her ears. Beneath the sports bra and tank,
her nipples went hard. If his gaze dropped, she knew he’d see, but she couldn’t
bring herself to feel self-conscious about it. Not when he was looking at her
like he wanted to devour her.

His
gaze dropped to her lips.

She
shuddered, everything inside her but the smallest voice of reason crying out
for him to do it. Just once.

“Tell
me not to,” he said, his voice a raw scrape.

***

Yum, right? Speaking of yummy, here's a closer look at the cover:

Laura adds to all this deliciousness by spicing things up with a generous helping of suspense and danger. I love my romance with a side of mystery! So very happy about that :D

About Hard As You Can:

Five dishonored soldiers.

Former Special Forces.

One last mission.

These are the men of Hard Ink.

Ever since hard-bodied, drop-dead-charming Shane McCallan
strolled into the dance club where Crystal Dean works, he's shown a knack for
getting beneath her defenses. For her little sister's sake, Crystal can't get
too close. Until her job and Shane's mission intersect, and he reveals talents
that go deeper than she could have guessed.

Shane would never turn his back on a friend in
need, especially a former Special Forces teammate running a dangerous,
off-the-books operation. Nor can he walk away from Crystal. The gorgeous
waitress is hiding secrets she doesn't want him to uncover. Too bad. He's
exactly the man she needs to protect her sister, her life, and her heart. All he
has to do is convince her that when something feels this good, you hold on as
hard as you can--and never let go.

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